UPDATE: I found some gems in this archive, so I've decided to 'give somthing back' by updating it . Added all entries from Page 3 - 4. If I have missed any just pm me. Added several new sections, most notably the indie section, which is entirely new. Fixed most of the formatting. Bolded both the band and the album name. Removed Italics (I find them harder to read. Opinions?). The list should now be up to date

UPDATE: Skiddy has created an audioscrobbler group. This is where all the member's music is cataloged, through sending what you playing in your mp3 player to the site, thus you can find out about music that way as well. The thread explaining it is here.

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The basic idea is that you name decent albums to share with the community, where they will be added into this post for all the community to see.

KoeN ~ Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique - (The Dust Brothers and Beasties weave a crazy-quilt of samples, beats, loops, and tricks, which creates a hyper-surreal alternate reality -- a romanticized, funhouse reflection of New York where all pop music and culture exist on the same strata, feeding off each other, mocking each other, evolving into a wholly unique record, unlike anything that came before or after. Musically, few hip-hop records have ever been so rich; it's not just the recontextulations of familiar music via samples, it's the flow of each song and the album as a whole, culminating in the widescreen suite that closes the record. )

Weeks ~ Blackalicious - NIA - (Positive hip-hop, slags off gangster rap. Uplifting and great. Possibly the best postive hip-hop album i've ever listen to along with Blazing Arrow by the same artists. Fantastic. If you really don't like mainstream hip-hop and don't want to hear about people getting killed in the hood listen to this album.)

Weeks ~Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow - (The follow up to NIA. This isn't really a departure from the sound of thier last album, which is to say it's also great! Reanimation, Blazing Arrow, First in flight and 4000 miles are great tracks.)

Lupin ~ Big L - Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerouz- (one of my favourite rap albums. The beats are pretty dark, deep, aggressive and hardcore. The same goes for Big L's lyrics, although about what he is talking is not really spectecular. Big L's strong point is his incredible, very flexible flow and funny punchlines like "yo, my dick is hard enuff to cut diamonds". A young Jay-Z is also presented on the hardcore track "Da Graveyard". sadly he got shot in 1999. RIP.)

SilverSmoke ~ Canibal Ox - The Cold Vein- (Dark, sinister and raw, but realistic and sensitive, great and original beats and usage of samples and very flowing lyrics without falling into the gangsterrap bullshit that so many of you guys loathe. To me, almost poetric lyrics spouted out in a coldish and raw way. Brilliant, should not be missed by any selfrespecting fan of the genre.)

Pyr0 MK III ~ Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 - (Hip-hop confabulations don't come much more forward-thinking than this. Working from solid atomic principles, Deltron 3030 takes one producer, one MC and one DJ and throws them beyond Futurama. Dan The Automator (one of the founders of the Handsome Boy Modelling School and administrator of Dr Octagon's porno hospital) reinvents himself as The Cantankerous Captain Aptos and teams up with Deltron Zero (aka Hieroglyphics crew member Del Tha Funky Homosapien) and Skiznod The Boy Wonder (bucky turntablist Kid Koala). Between the radio ads for future-funked, rap jams and camouflaged cameos (by the likes of Prince Paul, a castrato Damon Albarn, MC Paul Barman and his Upper West Side doppelganger Sean Lennon), the Deltron crew advise you to upgrade your brain to avoid getting sucked into the time virus. ("Ugrade your gray matter", they chant, "'cause one day it may matter".) The thematic opener, "3030", sounds like a beat-driven David Lean movie that slipped into the DJs fingers with 31st-century rhythm stutters and scratches. Automator ping-pongs loops as rousing choral parts swells with space pride. "Things You Can Do" riffs off mod rock while a harpsichord hack and Sean Lennon drops feature on the sickly-sweet mental apocalypse of "Memory Loss". Over its 21 tracks, Deltron 3030 erases the errors of this rap era in favour of hip hop's future-fathers.)

Lupin ~ Gangstarr - Full Clip: A Decade of Gangstarr- (This album (2 CD's) is an best of LP from songs of years 1989 to 1999. Gangstarr, aka The Guru & DJ Premier, are todays most respected hip hop group as both avoid to follow the mainstream movement. Guru famous for his monotone flow and his philosophic-touched lyrics, Premier loved for his jazzy beats and his superb scratched choruses (actually he invented this kind of style). The album delivers old school classic like "Just to Get a Rep", "Manifest" and "Step in the Arena" to new school bangers like "The Milita" or "You know my Steez".)

Ste~ The Herbaliser - Something Wicked This Way Comes- (I'm not very big on Hip-Hop but this album I absolutely love. By actually having a live band (brass, strings, percussion, bass etc) and some amazing vocals from a range of singers, this album is easily accessible to everyone and I would especially recommend it to people not normally into the genre.The tracks blend funk, jazz and trip-hop styles into the songs and has some great samples.)

Pyr0 MK III ~ Kanye West - College Dropout - (With jaw-dropping cameos from Jay-Z, Common, Mos Def and the Harlem Boys Choir plus the feel-good club tune of the year, "Slow Jamz" featuring Twista, College Dropout is as explosive, contradictory and complex as rap music gets.)

Pyr0 MK III ~ K-Os - Exit - (With the Benzino-tarnished hip-hop landscape taking a critical beat-down in early 2003, K-Os's debut, Exit, offers a smattering of hip-hope. With a vocal drone resembling Q-Tip or Magoo and a Lauryn Hill like penchant for crooning and rapping fiery anti-Babylon rhymes over acoustic guitars ("Follow Me" and "Heaven Only Knows"), this is as non-traditional sounding as a contemporary rap long-player gets. The genre bending begins with the pop ballad "Call Me" and forges ahead with dubby roots reggae ("Superstar, Pt. 1") and catchy Brit-pop tunes ("Superstar, Pt. 2"). Hip-hop purists might find self-produced tracks like "The Anthem," "Freeze" (which utilises an old Slick Rick drum pattern) and "Fantastique" slightly underproduced or unpolished. However, one gets the sense that the beats were intended to take a backseat to K-Os's provocative anti-bling-bling protest rhymes. This one's for hip-hop fans who like their lyrics left-of-centre.)

Lupin ~ Nas - Illmatic - (Only 11 tracks short, but probably the best hip hop LP ever. Beats from Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Large Professor, Grand Wizard etc.. perfectly fits to Nas's flow/lyrical expression. Best example for this is "The World Is Yours", surely an all time classic. Perfectly listenable when you are alone, as the lyrics are a hell of complex and you leaves room for thinking about it which actually you should or you miss something.)

Knight Theamion ~Postmen - Documents - (With some nice lyrics and not to much 'wanting to be down with the gangstahs' attitude this is a nicely composed album. Songs like cocktale and cocktail are good examples as well is crisis. Best it is listened on shuffle without the interludes in it, althought those are pretty nice baselines.)

SilverSmoke ~ Wu Tang Clan - Desciples of the 36 Chambers - (A Live album (2 cd's) brought to you by the Wu. All members including ODB are participating in this great piece of hiphop history. All great songs are included and I was pretty surprised that most of 'm do actually sound good while rapping live. Especially, GZA, RZA, ODB, Ghostface and Method Man.)

Trip-Hop

Weeks ~ DJ Shadow - Entroducing.....- (It's really hard to fit this into a category, ambient hip-hop perhaps? It really is one of the best electronic albums ever. Quite chilling, along with beats that really get to you. He seems to have created a new type of music and killed in the same album, there is really no other album like this.)

Weeks ~ DJ Shadow - The Private Press- (The follow-up to Entroducing. Far less of an organic album and more individual tracks, takes a while to get into. It's now one of my all time favourite albums. O2 used the music from this album for their adverts 'blood on the motorway'. Mashin' on the motorway is simply amazing.)

Weeks ~ DJ Shadow - In Tune and On Time LIVE- (Live in London. Contains tracks from all three of this previous albums and improves on them. Favourite tracks include Walkie Talkie and Blood on the motorway.)

Weeks ~ Kid Koala - Some of Best Friends Are DJs- (The follow up, a bit hard to get into at first; but you soon find the really excellent tracks. This album doesn't seem as tightly put together than the last one, but that also makes it quite enjoyable. Both are great albums if you want to listen to some f%cked up music.)

Weeks ~ RJD2 - Since We Last Spoke- (More like electronic jazz/hip-hop really/. The first four tracks are out of this world, like nothing else really, amazing)

(GENERAL COMMENT: Most of you will have heard terrible 'Happy Hardcore' which came about when Jungle was huge and Drum and Bass was just a baby. Those that didnt like the chipmunk vocals and uplifiting pianos went down another route and ended up with Freeform. Its almost impossible to classify and just fits in round other dance music genres really.)

Sardaukar ~ Bonkers 3 - A Journey into Madness - (This CD (one of 3 and the other 2 are gash imo) although strictly a mix CD with the scene as small as it was back then the same few producers were working together a lot and managed to get a snapshot that encompassed everything that was good about the music the tempo ranges from native indian inspired breakbeats of Ramos and Supremes - The Ravechief to the pounding 190bpm+ 4/4 acid line frenzy that is Marc Smiths - The Procrastinator. Ahead of its time and still sounds crisp and well produced)

Electronica

Weeks ~ Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy - (Probably the best EP or album he's done. Combines insanely fast drill-n-bass beats with fast ambient tracks, along with dubious electronic lyrics aboutfunny little men, swans and bum-holes. Simply the best electronic album ever. The mastery of this album is just too hard to explain using words.)

Knight Theamion~Apollo 440 - Dude Descending A Staircase - (A brilliant masterpiece which is the real sequel to 'Electroglide in blue', which songs have been used over and over in movies and the like. Electroglide in blue opened for me the world of music. This sheer brilliance is unimaginable and with Dude descending a staircase, they finally found a good successor, after 2 years of work in their studio.)

Duke Paul ~ Ulver - Perdition City- (Ulver used to be a black-metal band, but has moved on since then. When I first heard this album, I was stunned, and had to be dragged out of the shop by my mates. Bought it soon afterwards (didn't have money at the time) and never looked back. Great, dark, moody electronica.)

Nodrog ~ The Knife - Silent Shout - (Music normally takes a while to grow on me; its rare that I'll love an albun the first time I hear it. This is one of the few exceptions - after the first minute of track 1, I knew that I was listening to a work of genius. Even if you dont tend to like electronic music (I'm not a great fan normally), this is definitely worth checking out for the vocals alone; its almost certainly going to be one of my favourite 2006 albums. Tracks to check out: "ilent shout", "neverland".)

Dance

Deepflow ~ Daft Punk - Discovery- (This is pretty much the only vaguely dancy album i can listen to and enjoy again and again. Its just such an uplifting thing to listen to. Also, the way that things blend in, interlink and work together and against each other is fantastic. Some music snobs don't like this album, calling it regressive (well yes, its retro) and are dissapointed that it doesn't break the ground that homework did. I personally don't care, its a wonderful album that ive enjoyed regularly for almost 5 years now. Tracks to sample: One more time, Aerodynamic, Something about us)

Structural Integrity ~ DJ Lady Dana - DJ Dana (2CD) - (Hard dance songs of various artists mixed together by DJ Dana. I can't really say much more because I'm just exploring the genre, but I know I like this. )

Phang ~ Soulwax - Nite Sessions - (Just get it, okay?)

Phang~Darude - Before The Storm- (A wee retro moment here, harking back to 2001. Sandstorm still hasn't left the popular consciousness after this many years, and it's not even the best track on the album. Everybody should listen to Feel The Beat, and i suspect most people would be utterly convinced of the genius of this album having done so.)

Ecletic

SYMM x2 ~ The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightening, Strike - (Rather good, a very happy album, very catchy and danceable. I can't see how anyone could listen to Ladyflash without wanting to move about )

Chill Out

Nodrog ~ Leftfield - Rhythm and Stealth - (Not sure why I havent recommended this earlier, probably my favourite album for listening to in a dark room when I want to think/meditate. Track to check out: "Chant of a Poor Man".)

Rock/Pop

Deffeh ~ Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water - (I cannot believe no one has mentioned probably the best album ever written. Beautiful and sensual from start to finish, if this album doesnt tug on your heart strings, im sorry, but nothing ever will. You can put this on and cry in a room, walk and smile in the sun, sing your heart out in an empty shop (yo). Every song seems to roll into the next one (like every good album should), but if i had to pick highlights, the title track, and 'The Boxer' are two of the most astoundingly awesome tracks ive ever heard. Includes perhaps the most beautiful line of all time in 'The only living boy in new york' - being - "Hey.. i've got nothing to do, today, but smile". If you dont like this album, i cant ****ing reason with you.)

Nodrog ~ Ace of Base - Happy Nation - (The label 'pop music' is bordering on the meaningless - is anything interesting really being said when it is asserted that the Beatles, Steps, and Franz Ferdinand are all contributing to the same genre of music? If, however, we can agree to define pop music as cheerfully undemanding uplifting music, then this is still the best pop album of all time. *Tracks to sample* -Don't Turn Around, Happy Nation.)

Leshy ~ Guano Apes - Walking on a Thin Line - (This third Guano Apes album contains what are in my opinion some of their best songs, such as Kiss the Dawn, Pretty in Scarlet and Quietly. The Guano Apes don't really have one style, their songs vary from gentle rock ballads to pretty rough metal-grunge-like stuff. Powerful vocals from lead singer Sandra Nasic, this is goodness from Germany.)

midge5 ~ The Animals - The Best of The Animals- (It seems a bit of a cop out to recommend a best of but I personally find this album a lot better than any of their normal ones and would recommend this as the best choice if anyone was going to buy just one from them.)

Phang ~ Beck - Sea Change - (A mostly downcast but unanimously excellent album. The best word to describe the album is 'woozy'; lazy riffs and soft strings combine with quiet vocals to produce an album you can zone out to in the best way possible.)

Phang ~ Ben Folds Five - Rockin' The Suburbs - (Ben Folds' first solo album. Full of excellent songs, in particular Gone and Zak and Sara. If you need proof of how good Ben Folds is, even Deffeh likes him.)

Phang ~ Barenaked Ladies - Disc One - (Compilation album from the foremost guitar band in Canada if not the world. A good-spirited and incessantly talented exploration of ten years of great songs. Everybody knows One Week, but Pinch Me and Brian Wilson among others will be revalations to many. Endlessly listenable.)

Rikard ~ Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Take Them on Their Own - (BRMC is a three man band which combines a great bassguitar with brilliant guitarriffs to produce a massive wall of rock n roll music. Their music relies heavily on improvisations and you notice that during the album. The bridges in some songs like US Goverment and Heart+Soul are songs on their own. I'll add a quote because NME can say it much better then i can... " In a world where dissenting voices find themselves ever more marginalized, 'Take Them On, On Your Own' proves that it is possible to have something to say, while at the same time making a record that's so exciting, different and brilliantly executed, it will suck the air from your lungs." copypasted from http://nme.com/reviews/11359.htm which gave the CD a 9/10 score my personal all time favorite band and record.)

Quaser ~Jeff Buckley- Grace - (To this day I still am amazed at the lack of fame this man has; and deserves, could be due to the fact that he died at a tragically young age before he really hit the big time (drowned in the Mississippi while filming one of his videos I think ) The best I can probably describe it is soft rock although I've never really liked all these sub-categories. Took a while to grow on me but is now one of my all time favourites.)

Quaser ~ Jeff Buckley - Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk- (This is the album he was making at the time of his death hence 'Sketches for...' All my doubts were dashed about the quality of a supposed unfinished album immediately after listening to this. Contains 2 CD's with the first to my ear sounding like a finished album, the second...I think thats where the 'sketches more applies. Takes on a slightly more harder sound in this compared to his debut Grace, Even though I find the second CD a bit lacking its still worth it for the 1st.)

Blastoderm ~ Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head - (This album is just a classic. It's soothing, soulful and a great chill out. It's just a masterpiece. I heard of Coldplay from their first album of Parachutes but I didn't think they were the greatest thing around. Then I was introduced to this album by a friend (I didn't know it was released) This album catapulted them from ordinary boys to legends in my opinion. Not sure what category they fall under but I've always thought they're just plain alternative. Best song: Clocks - it encapsulates what Coldplay really is.)

Boogster ~ Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets - (Poetic and multi-layered music -highlights are 'The Stone' and 'The Dreaming Tree')

SilverSmoke ~ The Doors - Greatest Hits -(I always liked the Doors but never got into it, sometimes you hear a song on the radio and you think, hey those guys where pretty awesome but that's it. Recently I got this album and really all songs on it are pretty damn good. Great stuff to start with when you want to hear more from them. Anyone can recommend me some more Doors albums worthy of 'purchasing?' Best songs: Break on Through, Waiting for the Sun, LA Woman, Riders on the storm.)

Lokken ~ David Gray - White Ladder - (Not sure if he shouts or sings (probably both) but this one of the albums that i find great to relax to. Never go without it when i'm going on long journeys. Probably the most accessible of all his stuff. Favourite Song: Please Forgive Me)

Nodrog ~ The Arcade Fire - Funeral - (This is my favourite album of 2004, if not the millenium. Incredibly emotional indie rock which always sounds a bit familiar, but seems to do everything just slightly better than what you're expecting. I thought it was a bit generic on the first listen, but after the third time through I was hooked. *Tracks to sample* - The whole album, seriously. It's one of those rare ones where every single track is in the right place, and contributes to the sound as a whole - picking out individual songs would be akin to sacrilege. If I had to pick a favourite track it would be Crown of Love, but I doubt it would even sound that good isolated from the rest of the album.)

Gayle29uk ~ Pink Floyd - Delicate Sound of Thunder - (Double live album, starts off with the whole of Shine on you Crazy Diamond and just gets better from there.)

Weeks ~ The Fall- Perverted by Language- (The band John Peel always championed, A mixture of Punk with low-tech rock, very werid lyrics, Mark E Smith is a god)

SYMM ~ The Futureheads - The Futureheads - (New band from Sunderland, short and sharp songs (album is only abour 35mins long), very energetic. And there's a Kate Bush cover. Ace.)

Leshy ~ Guano Apes - Walking on a Thin Line - (This thi rd Guano Apes album contains what are in my opinion some of their best songs, such as Kiss the Dawn, Pretty in Scarlet and Quietly. The Guano Apes don't really have one style, their songs vary from gentle rock ballads to pretty rough metal-grunge-like stuff. Powerful vocals from lead singer Sandra Nasic, this is goodness from Germany.)

Obliterate ~ Hot Hot Heat- Make Up The Breakdown - (Riding the wave of retropunk with their debut Make Up the Breakdown, Vancouver natives Hot Hot Heat look set to sweep away Canada's reputation for bland beige-pop in a flash flood of jagged riffs, ska-flavoured skips and post modern hits (Amazon.co.uk). Standout songs: Oh Goddammit, Bandages)

Nodrog+SYMM ~ Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights - (Yes, they do sound a bit like Joy Division. No, this probably isn't as good as Closer. But given that the album sounds this fantastic, does it really matter? *Tracks to sample* - NYC.)

SYMM+Cooling ~ Interpol - Antics - (A solid (albeit similar) follow up to their first album. Their music is characterised by strong drums and complex lyrical arrangements - whilst still retaining a deep and emotive sound. You really can't go past this album; it rewards. *Tracks to sample*: Slow Hands, C'mere, and Evil.)

Rikard ~ Kasabian - Selftitled - (Kasabian make Rock very danceable. Though Kasabian is much much better live then they are on record i would still want to recommand this album. With nice (but simple) drums and a good combination of guitars, vocals and a few samples they made an album which can be used for lounge music when set quietly or as very good dancemusic when played very loud. Interested? You can listen to the whole album and a couple of B-side on http://kasabian.co.uk/nme (this is their official homepage))

Leshy ~ Keane - Hopes and Fears - (A British band that makes a gimmick out of having a piano player, and no guitar player. Works out amazingly well, actually. Singer Tom Chaplin has a pretty voice, and the music is very good. Quite low-risk music, not at all something to rock out to, but definitely has something which makes it perfect for easy listening.)

Demon Dave ~ Kings of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood - (Debut album for the Kings of Leon. Strong riffs and great vocals.)

Demon Dave ~ Kings of Leon- Aha Shake Heartbreak - (Similar to Youth and Young Manhood, however takes a more country twist. "Milk" has to be listerned to on headphones to be fully appreaciated)

furball ~The Killers - Hot Fuss - (The album opens with raw energy and power in "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine", and then slams into "Mr Brightside" and "Smile Like You Mean It", both top 10 singles. Next on the album is the anthemic "Somebody Told Me", probably my favourite song in the world right now. It never gets old. Their songs are dramatic yet impassioned, while whe synth and echo is very eighties but doesn't sound dated. The catchiest album of the year.)

Dark-strider ~ Tom McRae - Self Titled Debut Album - (Acoustic Folky Type Rock. This album is truly a work of genius. From the harsh stretched vocals on tracks such as Bloodless and The Boy With The Bubble Gun to the uplifting mellow but still wide range of vocal tones on Draw Down The Stars, and 2nd Law to the rock/pop but ultimately depressing End Of The World (Dose Me Up). This album excels. There is not a bad song on the album in my opinion. If you like the style of Damien Rice with a rougher darker edge then this album is for you. Reminds me of Nick Drake. Some people may find that Tom McRae's voice grates on the 1st listen but as you listen to it more and more, you'll ultimately see how rewarding it is. Tom McRae's 2nd album "Just Like Blood" is also worth a mention, as it is just as good if not a bit more uplifting.)

Phang ~ The Music - Welcome To The North - (Superior second album from the dance-infused rock Leeds-based quartet.)

Boogster ~ Muse - Origin of Symmetry - (Haunting vocals define the album; fusion of guitar with piano and voice works well. Better all round than the more recent Absolution - higlight is 'Citizen Erased')

IncubusGod~ Muse - Showbiz - (The first album from this fantastic threepiece. Subtle in places yet manic and heartfelt in others, the album swings from emotion to emotion. If you are familiar with their later work then this will feel a little rougher and far less polished. It's a snapshot of a band just starting out on a road of talented performances. Rawer than their later albums, there are some seriously impressive musical flurishes, showcasing the overall talent this band possess. A moody piece, its well worth a listen. Highlights include 'Sunburn' and 'Uno')

SYMM ~ Manic Street Preachers- The Holy Bible - (If you think you don't like the manics based on anything since (and including, maybe) This Is My Truth... then please consider listening to THB, as it is probably the best album in the world ever, and quite different.)

Weeks ~ Radiohead -KID A- (Almost ambient at times. A bit Brian Enoish and then a splash of Aphex Twin-like electronica/drill-n-bass for Idioteque. Their most expeimental album, but with a fair few dirty guitary tracks. Reminds me of being in the womb. A very organic album.)

SilverSmoke ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers- One Hot Minute - (I am not really a huge Pepper fan although I don't mind listening to any of their work some now and then but this album really stands out to me. It's less poppy and more darker then their later work (Californication and By the Way). I never see this album mentioned when people speak/write about the Peppers and has probably to do with the fact that not a lot of singles where released from it. Best songs: Deep Kick, Transcending, Warped, One hot minute.)

Boogster & Dark Strider ~ Damien Rice - 'o' - (Sad Irish bloke rasping/lamenting. Good though [dark strider's review] I know this has already been mentioned but to be honest it deserves a proper review. O is truly a fantastic album. From the 1st track Delicate with its sweeping vocals and intricate lyrics to the heartfelt The Blowers Daughter ( Which is the title song of the film "Closer") it draws the listener in. The simple instrumental use makes it sound like Damien Rice could have recorded it in your house. Standout tracks on the album for me are Cannonball a soft melodic trawl through the trials and tribulations of breaking up with a girl, to the oceanic harmonies of Cold Water theres a song for every mood in this album. The whole record I find can cheer me up and make me cry in equal measures. The whole tracks lead into each other sublimely so it sounds like your listening to an epic opera esque album. There's even 2 hidden tracks for you to fin incorporated in the last track Eskimo which features back-up singing from an Opera singer. This album is Essential in every way. [/dark-strider])

SYMM ~ The Rapture - Echoes - ()

Kurashima ~ Skunk Anansie -Stoosh - (With lead singer Skin, who could officially be the most frightening looking woman in the world after Jackie Stallone, SA provided an excellent UK based companion to the "Hate the World , Hate the Politicians" attitude that was prevalent stateside with RATM. Tracks like "Selling Jesus" and "Yes its ****ing Political" were not only hard hitting, but ****ing good tunes. Sadly, never made the transition to Superstardom only because their overtly political message stopped being "In" as a more corporate friendly style of Rock took over the market. Though most people wont know the names, as soon as you hear "Brazen" , "Hedonism" , or "Weak" , youll instantly recognise them.)

Lokken ~ Stereophonics - Word Gets Around - (This album is quite simply, their best by far - if you hate them for their later stuff it's understandable, but this album is simply excellent. Great Indie tunes with a fantastic rawness you just don't get on their other albums. Great from start to finish, highlights are Thousand Trees, Looks like Chaplin, Local Boy In The Photograph (my personal favourite), Not up to you, check my eyelids for holes and billy davey's daughter.)

KoeN~ Super Furry Animals - Radiator - (Using the psychedelicized prog-punk of 'Fuzzy Logic' as a foundation, Super Furry Animals move even further into left field on their second album, Radiator. As before, the group displays a gift for catchy, deceptively complex melodic hooks, but now their songwriting and arrangements are mind-bogglingly intricate and eclectic. Songs boast intertwining melodies and countermelodies, with guitars and keyboards swirling around the vocals. Similarly, the production is dense and heavy with detail, borrowing heavily from prog rock and psychedelic pop, but pieced together with the invention of techno and played with the energy of punk. It's a heady, impressive kaleidoscope of sounds, but what gives Radiator its weight is the way the sonics complement the songwriting. The _best_ album of my favourite band.)

IncubusGod ~ Soulwax - Much Against Everyones Advice - (While being a nice blend of guitar music influenced by electronica, this band still retain the normal feel of a good band yet augment it with subtle twists of samples, drum loops and other embellishments. The music is clearly Rock/Pop however and have some bittersweet songs mixed with agressive and quirky music. You get an overall sence of humour in their work which is a refreshing change from many bands who've dissapeared up their own arse. If you're looking for something different within the Rock/Pop genre but something that doesn't stray too far from the safe cosyness of the scene then this is worth a look. Highlights include 'Too Many Djs')

midget5 ~ Stereophonics - Performance and Cocktails- (Far better than any of their newer albums which seem to have gone downhill dramatically. If they are all you have heard by the phonics I would recommend sampling this album before discarding them as crap.)

Demon Dave ~ Travis - The Man Who - (Their second and by far their best album. This album includes Why Does It Always Rain On Me? Driftwood, Writing to Reach You and a hidden track. If you like Keane and Coldplay, chances are you'll like Travis)

Weeks ~ Tom Waits -Blood Money- (Tracks include: misery is the river of the world, starving in the belly of a whale and everything goes straight to hell. It has trumpets and seems quite piratey, also if you've ever played monkey island 2: lecucks revenge- it seems to fit into that kind of a dark atmosphere. Tom waits it a bit of a god. It's just so well done.)

Weeks ~ Tom Waits -Rains Dogs- (Like the above review really. You've really gotta give Tom Waits a listen. There's a bit in the first track (which is probably the best where he starts talking about making feet for childrens shoes.)

Gayle29uk ~ Velvet Underground- Velvet Underground And Nico - (Great album when you're in a strange mood. Venus in Furs is especially tasty.)

Phang ~ William Shatner - Has Been - (A surprisingly good and irreverent record, consisting largely of cameos from talented people with far too much time on their hands. Highlights include the cover of Common People and I Can't Get Behind That - 3 minutes of Shatner and Henry Rollins yelling at each other about email spam, teenage abuse of english and people who drive SUVs very slowly among other things.)

Indie

Phang ~ Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better With... - (Forget whatever you thought about FF from the first album. This has none of the repetitive pretentious wank of their self-titled debut, and instead represents forty minutes of stripped-back art rock with so much funk it hurts. Standout tracks are Evil and a Heathen, Walk Away, and The Fallen.

Nodrog+Phang ~ New Pornographers - Twin Cinema -Horrendously catchy tunes that manage to avoid being either simplistic or cheesy. The only problem with this album is that the female vocalist isnt used enough - she only gets 2 songs out of the 14. Stand out tracks: "These are the Fables", and "Sing Me Spanish Techno".) (

Nodrog ~ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - (Stupid band name, great album. Indie pop again, but not very upbeat, and with a sound that reminds me of the Arcade Fire although I'm not sure why. Standout tracks: "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth", "Details of the War".)

Phang ~ Cat Power - You Are Free - (It's a really good album just in general, but the undisputed highlight has to be the track 'He War', which you should kill your grandparents to hear.)

jerome ~ Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People - (released in '03 but still absolutely fantastic compared with a lot of other indie rock out. i honestly adore every song on this album, mixing traits of pensivity, joyousness and just passion, this album plainly rocks.)

jerome ~ The Album Leaf - In a Safe Place - (This gorgeous, cinematic record was recorded with the aid of Sigur Ros at their studio in Iceland. Think Sigur Ros meets Dntel and you have a good idea of what it sounds like. For the band-reference comparison challenged, this is an album full of subdued clicks and beeps, sweeping melodies, and beautiful, wistful melancholy.)

Phang ~ Arctic Monkeys - Beneath the Boardwalk - (Demo tape from the hottest live act, and uncontestable best new band, of 2005. Standout tracks are 'Cigarette Smoke', 'Scummy', 'A Certain Romance' and first single 'Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' (DANCING TO ELECTROPOP LIKE A ROBOT FROM 1984, OH FROM 1984). This will be hard to get hod of because it's a demo tape, obviously, but careful scouring of torrent networks should provide it. If not, PM me. But you all need to hear this.)

jerome ~ Say Anything - Is A Real Boy - (Wonderful wonderful wonderful mix of indie/punk rock/pop gems. Originally intended to be a musical, Max bemis restyled the songs into a concept album about a boy in an unsuccessful band running a commentary on the pretentions and the retardity of life & society. one of the best albums released in the past few years, easily)

Phang ~ The Boxer Rebellion - Exits - (This is one hell of an album, and it delights more with every listen. The basic premise is of a shoegazer-dance-rock-type thing, of the ilk of Kasabian or The Music. But while those bands certainly have their place, TBR are working on a very different level. The brash, angular, noisy FUNK of songs like Watermelon or The New Heavy establishes their credentials as a band to dance to, and the curious mixture of slow-burning melodies and emotionally-charged vitriol seen in Flight or All You Do Is Talk shows their versatility and quality, but it's the beautiful soundscapes of songs such as We Have This Place Surrounded or World Without End that are the proof of the pudding: Beautiful, multi-part soundscapes that burst into crescendoes before slipping back into subtlety. An absolutely compelling album that everyone who can tolerate a guitar in their music should hear.)

jerome ~ Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene - (BSS is actually probably the best album released last year, more people need to catch onto the collective brilliance, that is them. it took a while for me to clock on, but once i did - goddamn. (it's generally advisable to have proper earphones/speakers too, it helps muchly.))

SYMM ~ Dismemberment Plan - Emergencty & I - (It's qutie difficult to describe their sound, it's not far off being 'emo' I suppose, but at the same time it's bouncy 'pop'. Amazon has samples I think, so at least give a listen.)

midge5 ~ Immaculate Machine - Ones and Zeros - (A great album, not sure if its been mentioned already but couldn't find it on the front page list (Ed - It is now). Kinda rocky and they share a band member with The New Pornographers)

Phang ~ Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit - (It gets better with every listen. I was surprised to see nobody had mentioned it yet given that me and Nod have both posted in this thread since it got onto the net. They're probably myfavourite band right now, and while this album isnt quite as good as If You're Feeling Sinister or Dear Catastrophe Waitress, there's still no excuse not to buy it. do so.)

Experimental

jerome ~ Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain - (Lightning bolt is experimental noise. a quaintly tuned bass played with desirable hands + extravagantly harsh pacy drums in a furious fashion, providing a soundtrack for their song names. this tends to help your imagination create a whole visual backing and story to it, and generally love this band to death. it's hard to describe their music as anything other than intense & dense. in their last 2 albums, i've always been easily drawn in into my own world of wonderful rainbow & hypermagic mountain, totally removed from everything around me there and then.)

Progressive

jerome ~ Dredg - Catch Without Arms - (Complexity and intricacy is the order of the day with this band in their third album. This album builds on the bands first two offerings by bring more progressive and less rocky than the past outings. The title track is the biggest stand out of the album with it's awesome lyrics, the band also emply a style of ambience within the album.)

Electro

Phang ~ Ladytron - The Witching Hour - (Impossibly good music to dance to. If you like Goldfrapp, Kasabian, or in point of fact any music at all whatsoever, you should love this and if you don't you have AIDS. standout tracks are 'destroy everything you touch' and 'international dateline' although 'high rise', 'sugar' and 'amtv' also rank in my top songs of the year.)

Phang ~ Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel - (Like Depeche Mode? Course you do. And you're particularly going to enjoy John The Revelator and Lilian.)

Phang ~ Hot Chip - The Warning - (It sounds good, the lyrics are good ("over and over and over and over and over, like a monkey with a miniature cymbal" wins the ****ing prize) and you can dance to it. What more do you want? Fellatio?)

Rock

G.K Zhukov ~ R.E.M - New Adventures in Hi-Fi - (Perfect for listning too while you watch the rain from inside the bus. More Rock than the famous Automatic for the people album, but I find it almost as good. Tracks worth listning to in particular: Leave, Bittersweet Me, So Fast So Numb, Electrolite.)

Vaio ~ Propaganda - A Secret Wish - ( One of the best bands of the 1980s. Think the Human League mixed with Kraftwerk.
If you don't like this album, you are dead (as in dead, deceased, ceased to be, not Yur fukken ded (sic.))

Idimmu ~ Joe Satriani - An Anthology- (Basically I downloaded this yesterday, and this is the first time in about a year (since I downloaded Disillusion - Back To TImes Of Splendor) that I have heard an album that i truely think is worth shelling out money for.)

Idimmu ~ Disillusion -Back To Times Of Splendor - (Basically if you like Opeth, you'd better not download this, or you'll never bother listening to Opeth again as even though this album has only 6 tracks everything that anyone had ever done before pales in comparison, this is the album that you can listen to atleast once a day for the rest of eternity and still not have listened to it often enough.)

demiGOD ~ Chevelle - Point #1, Wonder What's Next & This Type of Thinking Could Do Us In - (might be that Chevelle is one of the best heavy-rock bands that came out of Chicago, the heavy guitars, gutsy drum tracks and the hard-core vocals will rock your everydays.. all albums are GOOD!! Tracks to listen to are Point #1, The Red, Send The Pain Below, and pretty much EVERYTHING in the 3rd album! This band ROCKS! You guys should buy all their CD's!!)

Boogster ~ Rage against the Machine - Killing in the name of - (Nothing comes close to being as powerful, dynamic and driven; the album is innovative and genre defining. Highlights are 'Bullet in the Head' and title track)

Deepflow ~ Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream - (To me this is the perfect rock album. Theres a great deal of variety in the songs, although they are all very guitar heavy. The guitar play itself, by billy in particular, is hugely emotive and moving, as well as the singing. The lyrics are too sometimes, but most of the time i just can't understand what the hell he is trying to say. I see new things in the songs every different time i listen to it. Strictly i suppose its "alternative rock" but i would advise anyone who likes their rock a little 'deeper' than normal to buy this album. Tracks to sample: Today, Disarm, Geek USA, Mayonaise)

Cooling ~ Smashing Pumpkins - Pisces Iscariot - (This album is a gem. It is rare for a collection of B-Sides to contain so many amazing songs. Best described as a rough cut diamond, listening to this album is rewarding for both fans and first time listeners. If you prefer their more melodic side, then songs such as Whir, Soothe and Landslide will make you smile. For those who like their harder edge, you cannot go past Frail and Bedazzled. While it may not be as accessible than their other albums, I highly recommend it.)

demiGOD ~ Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - (First of all, I'm in love with their bass player D'arcy so it's gonna be biased. If 1995, '96 and '97 were Pumpkins-less, it'd be a big void in Rock history and will confuse the world and f*ck up the vast time continuum of this planet. The biggest 2-CD album ever sold in music history that went multiple-platinum, won various MTV and Grammy awards in '96 and '97 and rocked the world. A plethora of fairy tales, fables and love stories played in aggressive ways only rock fans will understand. All songs are good and will take you to places you've never seen before...)

SilverSmoke ~ The Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium - (I really don't know in which genre to place this album, but it's awesome. Ofcourse, there are guitars, dramatical vocals and drums but it's such a beautiful organised chaos I've never heard before. The first time I listened it I was like 'what?' but somehow it screams ' listen to me another time please!' and you really start to apreciate it. Just awesome. Can't really say which songs are the best as the album is a masterpiece on it's own.)

Kurashima ~ White Zombie - Astro Creep 2000 - (After a "Critical" success with their Previous Album , the band go for broke with an album combining thrash, dance, punk, and just plain Hard Rock. Easily their crowning glory, and it was all downhill from thereon in (although the remix Album , Super Sexy Swinging Sounds, had a few absoloutely brilliant versions that outdid their originals).

Phang ~ TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain - (As good as the Young Liars EP was, and twice as long. Playhouses might just be better than Staring at the Sun. Get hold of it now.)

Alternative

jerome ~ The Maple State - Atleast Until We've Settled In - (i've been absolutely heads over heels in love with this band since i saw them supporting circa survive back in september. honestly, this band brings some innovation and brilliance which is much needed in the british alternative punk scene. i could shower this recommendation with many metaphors and such, but all you need to know is that this band is filled with funk. and funk is good. very good.)

jerome ~ Gatsbys American Dream - Volcano - (I've found many, many releases i've adored this year. of everything it is this album, which is undoubtedly my favourite and walks into my top10 albums of all-time easily. (which isn't too shabby considering i possess around 800 albums.) i'm not sure why i haven't recommended this album here before but it is pretty much fantastic. Filled with literary references ranging from Jurassic Park and The Lord Of The Rings trilogy to Interview With A Vampire and The Lord Of The Flies , Volcano is not easy music to swallow, and it's not meant to be. there are no choruses in this album, it's all interweaving music with intellectuality in the music being the main sell point. revisiting old lyrics from previous albums backing up songs, short postscripts to full tracks, cowball vocal exchanges all feature in this album to make it one of the most magnificent albums released in quite a while.
Of everything i've recommended this would be the one i'd definitely ask ANYONE to go for. give the whole album 5-6 spins and tell me you don't adore it.)

jerome ~ Minus The Bear - Menos El Olso - (Ambient Synth-Rock. Witty lyrics, excellent ability to paint pictures with their songs, the calm progressive feel of minus the bear most likely won't appeal to everyone but to those with a taste for this sort of music, the chances are you will adore this.)

Obliterate ~ Beck - Guero - (This is just a really catchy album - most of the songs will stick in your head for a long time. It's really difficult to explain the sound of this album, it's just really easy to listen to. Standout songs: E-pro, Girl.)

Instrumental

Cooling ~ Jakob - Subsets of Sets - (A haunting soundscape of dark and intense instrumental music; that is Jakob in a nutshell. Their music is heavily focused upon conveying a situation or mood through sound alone. Vocals are dispensed with, in favour of deep and complex sets. Songs like A nice day for an earthquake attempt to convey the calm and tranquility before the storm; only to explode into a wall of sound. The band is worth listening to if only to hear somthing unique and different. I highly recommend watching one or two of the Videos)

Jazz:

G.K Zhukov ~ Silje Nergaard - At First Light - (Dont worry, the lyrics are all in english. Her voice is beautiful, the music is nice. An exellent record to chill down with, or to listen to when you fell down. Somehow she manages to touch my heart, hell even make me(!) feel romantic for a while. Also worth noting, another album with the same style called Port of Call.)

Lupin ~ Miles Davis - Kind of Blue- (Most sold Jazz LP of all time. Really, if you can listen to this album do it. I call it "A gift to human culture" by Miles Davis. Excellent if you are new to Jazz, as for Jazz it is very listenable but still complex. The Songs from this Quintett (John Coltrane - sax, Bill Evans - piano, Paul Chambers - bass, Miles Davis - trump, Jimmy Cobb - drums) are from sensitive to pretty expressionistic (i guess my gramma is here wrong). "Flamenco Sketches" for example is the perfect if you want to turn off. A real gem if you like instrumental music.)

Lupin ~ Coleman Hawkins - Desafinado- (Coleman Hawkins meets Bossa Nova. Hawkins, a giant in Jazz's history, plays this short CD (~ 36 min) on a superb high level. It is fantastic to listen to his sensitive play of his Tenor-Saxophon, combined with the easy going rythm of Latin Jazz. Perfect 'good mood' music.)

Lupin ~ John Coltrane - A Love Supreme - (Some say the music on this album is perfect, i dont know. But i can say this LP is not easy to listen to as you miss in every song a formal structure for example like a continuing bass-line. And Coltranes play, it sounds crazy mad, from clear rythms to high pitched, sloped tones. I know a lot of people who think when listening to "A Love Supreme" that there is playing a derelict for the first time the saxophone to get the money for a meal. The last thing i can say when you open yourself for it, it is indescribably touching, it sounds (compared to other Jazz LP's) like being on a whole new level. Intense and emotion thats what this album is all about.)

Punk

Ephor ~ The Clash - London Calling - (1979 double album that marked the band's critical and commercial breakthrough. Rather than being straight punk like their earlier albums, London Calling features a wider array of styles. Considered a landmark by some, it's features still receive airplay today.)

Blastoderm ~ Alkaline Trio - From Here To Infirmary - from here - (Brilliant stuff from this band. Punk of the late 20th century. Blending their trademark jackhammer riffs, frantic rhythms and heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics with deft production, Alkaline Trio have created an emotion-fuelled, angst-ridden pop-punk masterpiece. Full of strangling bass lines and walls of fuzzed-out guitar, 'From Here To Infirmary' bristles with infectious energy from start to finish. Best Songs: Private Eye and Armageddon.)

xtrasyn ~ Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti - (It´s a common rock album but the lyrics are very strong. A must-pickup! [weeks] is frank zappa rock or just rock/pop?[/weeks])

Phang ~ The Fall - Fall Heads Roll - (25th album from John Peel's favourites. Far better than it has a right to be (and they're still cracking live). Highlights are the astounding Pacifying Joint, as well as 60s cover I Can Hear The Grass Grow and seven minute drugathon Blindness.)

demiGOD ~ New Found Glory - Sticks and Stones - (POP-PUNK: probably their most successful album, this Florida-based punk band entered the pop/punk rock scene in '97 and boosted their reputation because of this record. Tracks to listen to, tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8.)

demiGOD ~ Weezer - 'Blue album', 'Green album' and 'Maladroit' - (AWESOME!! Lots of speed and heavy pop/punk rock music and rock ballads that are mostly about sex, alcohol, love, hate, and surfing!! If you spent your highschool listening to Weezer, their songs will forever be in your memory because their demograph aims the 14-18 age-bracket. Tracks to listen to from these 3 albums are, My Name is Jonas, The Sweater Song, Buddy Holly, Say It Aint So (and everything else in the Blue Album!!) - Hash Pipe, Island in the Sun, and O Girlfriend (Green Album) - Take Control, Death and Destruction, Burndt Jamb, and Slave (Maladroit). These are good buys either to reminisce)

Metal

Structural Integrity ~ Apocalyptica - Reflections - (Apocalyptica, metal with chello's. Whoever came up with that combination must have been nuts... or a genius... Although Apocalyptica is better known by their Metallica covers with chello's, this is an album of their own. Most tracks are rather fast-paced but with a classical undertone due to the chello's. In my opnion it would make a great Sound Track for a movie. Listen to the Prologue and No Education on this album to get an idea of their style.)

Orion Treet ~ Emperor - Anthems to the welkin at dusk- (This cd captures the essence of where brutality meets beauty and composition. The music is fast and blastbeat speed most of the time, but the melodies are so complex and intricate that you can let yourself be carried away by it. Even through the darkness of the music there is an uplifting feel to the album, a feeling of triumph. I consider this the single best black metal album from the best black metal band ever.)

Blastoderm ~ Ill Niño - Revolution Revolucion - (If you want metal and a lot of yelling apart from typical Slipknot, then this is it. Although the part Spanish part English lyrics might put some people off, I think they've done a good job with it especially combining metal and a hint of Spanish music stuff. A lot of the songs from the start are good but as soon as you reach to the end of the album it gets a bit shit. Still, doesn't stop it from being a great metal album of 2001. Best songs: What Comes Around (for starters) and If You Still Hate Me)

SilverSmoke ~ Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast -(Shouldn't need a lot of explaination, this album is legendary amongst old metalheads. Flagship of early 80's metal. Best songs in my opinion are: 666, Children of the Damned and Hallowed be thy name.)

Vaio ~ Living Colour - Vivid - (Out of all their albums, this one is my favourite. From the amazing 'Cult Of Personality' to the ironic 'Which Way To America' every song rocks and funks equally. Steal this album, although buying it is better.)

Metal Opera
(GENERAL COMMENT: Metal opera, all these albums are a collection of metal songs that tell a story if you play them in order. Also nice on random play.)

cnaw ~ Aina- Days Of Rising Doom - (The name of this "band" could easily be called "Various Artists" as the number of people who contributed to this project is vast. It was produced by Sascha Paeth and Robert Hunecke-Rizzo. The story and lyrics were written by Amanda Somerville. In total over 40 people took part; too many to list here.)

Structural Integrity ~ Tobias Sammet - Avantasia: The metal opera pt 1 - (A collection of songs when played in order telling story. Also check out The metal opera pt 2 in the Avantasia serie.)

Structural Integrity ~ Edguy - Kingdom of madness - (A collection of songs when played in order telling story. Also check out Mandrake, The savage poetry, Theater of salvation and Vain Glory opera of the same Edguy series.)

MarilynManson ~ Apoptygma Berzerk - Seven - (Much of the same as with VNV nation, although probably less depth in the focus of the songs, and this time it's by Norwegians. Tracks to sample: Love Never Dies, Deep Red, Non-Stop Violence.)

jerome ~ Katatonia - Tonight's Decision - (One of their older albums, yet still so damn good. It’s scary the way everything sounds so controlled. Such sweet melodies mixed with metal & yet no stereotypical Slipknot-esque screams. "For My Demons” sets the mood in perfect and classic Katatonia-n style with those beautiful lead melodies and heavy riffs. On this album Katatonia-n have come up with some really strong and more focused songs, like the album’s two masterpieces ”Strained” and closing track ”Black Session". Though masterful music in this album is definitely not limited there.)

jerome ~ Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down - (Katatonia has eased up a bit on the metal side, though there are still crunchy riffs and downtuned guitars throughout the album. The most noticeable changes in the band occur in their song structures, which are much more loose and open to improvisation than before. Not as good as the other 2 Katatonia albums I've mentioned in this post, but still a touch above most others in it's genre. )

jerome ~ Katatonia - Viva Emptiness - (Truly maturing from their original sound and yet subtly keeping their original tracks within their music this album is ****ing amazing. Though, I would definitely not consider Katatonia fully gothic metal but they do equate to the general consensus of gothic metal. With a sound that travels from a mid paced and for lack of a better labeled genre, harden rocked apathy to an emotionally driven darkened reflection of when times were bleak. This is one of the best albums ever. It’s been a long time since I have come across an album with this much staying power and strangely enough it’s still not letting up)

JammyJim ~ Kenny Chesney - No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems - (The title track on this is absolutely perfect for lounging around on a warm summers day doing absolutely nothing at all apart from maybe drinking. The album itself launched him to number 1.)

JammyJim ~ Kenny Chesney -When the sun goes down - (Filled with some ace songs. Once again the title track is briliant and has 'uncle kracker' doing his bit. I like the way he blends traditional country type storytelling with more modern style pop stuff.)

JammyJim ~ Toby Keith - Unleashed - (Apart from the vitriolic nationlism in one song which goes on about how theyre going to 'shove a boot in your ass because its the american way' over 9/11; its brilliant. Most (not all) of the tracks have the underlying feeling of 'im taking the piss a bit' out of stuff. "whos your daddy" for example or 'beer for my horses'. However apart from these tracks the only other 'good one' is 'down to mexico'. The rest are alot slower and more melodic which isnt really what i enjoy.)

JammyJim ~ Lonestar - Lonely Grill - (A brilliant album. Just buy / download it and youll understand why. Most of the songs you will have heard before hand id imagine unless you never listen to the radio ever. The other notable album (ive only heard one or two tracks) is "Im already there")

Hardcore

Snurx ~ His Hero Is Gone - 15 counts of Arson - (Brilliant, hard and depressing. Listening to it is like watching the world go under. Hardcore at it's best. Can sound a bit metallish, but not so much that it's bad. (Metal and hardcore don't mix))

Snurx ~ Tragedy - Vengeance - (Woah. The album is built up like a story, and it's told greatly. I feel like a frightened child after listening to it all. Best hardcore i've heard in many years.)

Ste ~ Lightyear - Call of the Weasel Clan- (Unfortunately now disbanded, Lightyear were best savoured live and I would consider them the best thing to come out of Derby since civilization left the city to its own devices. The 7-piece band are possibly as well known for their frequent nakedness as their music! I myself caught them naked limbo dancing at the Reading festival. Their first album has some great catchy tunes, and the songs jump between pop, ska, punk and hardcore genres almost constantly. It may take a while to get into the album if you haven't seen them live but give it time and you notice the amusing lyrics and the amazing talent the band had. The whole band help out with the vocals and the harmonies they produce in certain songs is amazing!)

Ste ~ Lightyear - Chris' Gentlemans Hairdresser And Railway Bookshop- (The second album from the Derby band is much more political and boasts an even more diverse merging of genres. One song has a drum n bass beat while another has a hip-hop feel to it. Random lyrics such as "You're mums got big hands and shops at aldi" are scattered throughout the songs along with numerous star trek references and every track is unpredictable. This also makes the album harder to get into than the previous one but after a few listens you can't help but find yourself humming tunes to yourself and singing random lines all the time.)

Punk Rock/EMO

Phang ~ Bad Religion - The Empire Strikes First - (Latest studio album from a rejuvenated Bad Religion. The godfathers of modern punk come much closer to their original sound than they've done in ten years and produce some of their best work yet.)

Blastoderm ~ Blink 182 - Take off Your Pants and Jacket -(Out of all the albums Mark, Tom and Travis released, this turned out to be the best album they've ever recorded. From the beginning of Anthem Part 2 till the end, it gives you the feeling to be a childish punk who loves doing all the childish/teenage stuff (falling in love, going on a date, do stupid things, break-ups, etc). I think it's quite melodic and if you want to listen to Punk Rock/Emo, this is a starter. Best songs: all of them to be honest.)

Phang ~ Dead Kennedys - Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death - (Something approximating a best-of collection for one of the best-known SoCal punk outfits of the late seventies and early eighties. With their most anthemic songs (Calfornia Uber Alles and Holiday in Cambodia in particular) present, this album is an essential acquisition for any punk fan.)

Phang ~ The Descendents - Cool to be You - (The originators of goofball punk come back with their first full-length album in eight years. While not as accomplished as their earlier work or some of their successors (Guttermouth spring to mind), it remains an excellent album and well worth a listen.)

Phang ~ The Mad Capsule Markets -CiSTM K0nFLiqT - (The latest album from the brilliant and bizarre Japanese trio. Far heavier than their last album (010), they continue to play with genre boundaries, usually with drummer Motokasu's arms seemingly on the point of working themselves loose.)

Dante ~ NOFX - War on Errorism - (Latest offering from Southern Californian punk veterans with songs on the state of America, punk rock nostalgia and erm, a woman with no arms and legs. Tuneful, rocky and as always, badly sung.)

jerome ~ Park - It Won't Snow Where Your Going - (In a very popularized genre, with many bands churning out essentially the same thing, Park is one of the few bands playing this style that stand out and keep me interested. I was a fan of their first release on "No Signal," and when I heard this new release was out I was pleased. It's a fair continuation of where "No Signal" left off with the high tenor vocals that could be their signature and creative guitar melodies and leads. Personally I really like his vocal style, which stands above everything else going on in the song. The lyrical themes this time around cover suicide and broken romances. The songs are sharp and tight making this a catchy and impressive second album for Park. Song lyrics are quite over-clichey emo though, but to people who this genre appeals to, songs like Which Wrist First & Nice Night For A Fist Fight will be good listening.)

jerome ~ Senses Fail - Let It Enfold You - (Fans of Taking Back Sunday and Hidden In Plain View will find a lot in favour here but that doesn’t take away the fact that Senses Fail hold credibility in their own right. Highlights include: ‘Let it enfold you’ and ‘Bite To Break Skin’ which feature standoff rock intros and an abundance of sharp lyrics that dart in and out of soaring melodies though that's definitely not limited to just those 2 songs.)

Phang ~ Stiff Little Fingers - All The Best - (Compilation from the great Irish punk band. Gifted musically and with flashes of sick but good humour, it never drops a stitch and provides an hour and a half of great punk.)

Phang ~ Turbonegro - Scandinavian Leather - (The third album from the "slightly" unhinged Norwegian six-piece, specialising in furious riffs and memorable hooks. Highlights include Ride With Us and Train of Flesh.)

jerome ~ Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends - (If you are able to get past the singing (most of the songs have at least one moment of an incredibly shrill and tone deaf scream) Tell All Your Friends is a good album as far as emo-punk goes. Songs such as Cute without the E & Timberwolves at new jersey are definitely a bit more distinctive in a genre which lacks much power, edge, or diversity due to it being too common.)

jerome ~ Sleeping at last - Ghosts ~ (One of the most calming albums I've ever listened to, great for when your insomniac and need something to soothe you to sleep. Quivering vocals synchronize well with sleek, yearning strings & subtle drumming that haunt Ghosts(the album). It's this ambitious work that takes tracks like "Say", "A Skeleton of Something More" and "Currents" to a dreamland far beyond the straightforward modern rock. Ghosts could have easily become yet another album bleeding emo-inflected tears for the torturous souls of its creators. Instead, it's an album showing great melody and displaying the superb promise of youth.)

Piano Rock/Emo

jerome~ Brandtson - Send us a Signal - (powerful rock melodies slightly coated with pop harmony; pulling everything together in an overall appealing sound. The guitars posses a heavy yet easy-on-your-ears sound coupled with profound drum beats that really resemble a mix between the often compared to Jimmy Eat World. Lyrically, the album is stamped with those words of despair and lost hope. Good songwriting has always been a staple of Brandtson, and this album is no different. "Mercy Medical" is one of the few songs you listen to and think "these people are damn geniuses".)

jerome ~ Waking Ashland - I am for You - (Waking Ashland doesn’t have a lot going for them in the way of originality. You have heard this EP before. I think it was called “Destination: Beautiful” or “Leaving Through the Window” or even “Clarity” then. There is no use going on about how inventive and new this band is. That’s just not where this band’s strength lies. What you have not heard, however, is such crisp and precise execution from a band struggling through the confines of the bland and played out genre that is piano-rock. Make no mistake, Waking Ashland may be doing the same, tired routine as everyone else, but they are doing it like no band has done it in a while.)

Blastoderm ~ Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water - (Limp Bizkit at their height. Great lyrics, great music, great scene at the time of release. Although people have said Fred Durst is a bit of a prick, he does know how to make himself (and the band) rich and famous. Widely accepted with the black community too. Best songs - Boiler and My Way)

BLASTODERM SAYS THAT THIS ISN'T SHIT NU-METAL

Blastoderm ~ Linkin Park - Reanimation - (Lynch me for mentioning Linkin Park but this is the only album I'm accepting from them. It's not shit nu-metal (although there is a hint of it). It's the remixes which makes it sound like a bit of breaks & beats, underground hip-hop, electronic and techno-esque. Since I also listen to that sort of music I quite enjoyed listening to this. It can come handy when you have a party and the people you've invited are a bunch of bohemians and 'grungers'. Had my mate from college not pushed me into buying this, I probably wouldn't have discovered it. Best songs: Frgt/10, Plc.4 Mie Haed, PPr:Kut and P5hng Me A*wy.)

Garage

Blastoderm ~ Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner - (This first album got me back into underground UK garage. He calls it 'grime' (I don't know what the **** is that?). It's sounds so underground. The bass, the vibes, the beats and he's a lyrical genius (in an underground music perspective). It's one of the few things I liked because it reminds me a lot of London (very 'street' and urban) and their whacky taste in UK garage. Best song: I Love You - gives me a picture of a Rudeboy and his gf having a go at each other.)

Blastoderm ~ Oxide & Neutrino - Execute - (A must have for every single garage fan. This album was so good, it was used in every party that I've been to when I was in year 11. Even the ones who didn't quite like garage (especially the ones who listen to rock mainly) appreciated their music when they released the song Devil's Nightmare (was part of Tomb Raider 1 OST). It's their instinctive, bass-driven, raw underground sound that has made them a force almost without equal. Best songs: No Good 4 Me and Devil's Nightmare).

__________________Efficiency, efficiency they say
Get to know the date and tell the time of day
As the crowds begin complaining
How the Beaujolais is raining
Down on darkened meetings on the Champs Élysées

Are you looking for alternative music people haven't heard of mostly? Currently the three albums I'm listening to are Into The Music by Van Morrison, Lovers Rock by Sade and Wish You Were by Pink Floyd. Obviously these are fairly famous (the last one more so probably) so should I only mention albums which I'm pretty sure most people aren't aware of?

__________________Some might ask what good is life without purpose but I'm anticipating a good lunch.

Are you looking for alternative music people haven't heard of mostly? Currently the three albums I'm listening to are Into The Music by Van Morrison, Lovers Rock by Sade and Wish You Were by Pink Floyd. Obviously these are fairly famous (the last one more so probably) so should I only mention albums which I'm pretty sure most people aren't aware of?

No, just suggest things you like. I'm not looking for anything. I just thought it'd be quite cool to do this.

This third Guano Apes album contains what are in my opinion some of their best songs, such as Kiss the Dawn, Pretty in Scarlet and Quietly. The Guano Apes don't really have one style, their songs vary from gentle rock ballads to pretty rough metal-grunge-like stuff. Powerful vocals from lead singer Sandra Nasic, this is goodness from Germany.

The Mars Volta - Deloused in the comatorium
I really don't know in which genre to place this album, but it's awesome. Ofcourse, there are guitars, dramatical vocals and drums but it's such a beautiful organised chaos I've never heard before. The first time I listened it I was like 'what?' but somehow it screams ' listen to me another time please!' and you really start to apreciate it. Just awesome. Can't really say which songs are the best as the album is a masterpiece on it's own.

the second album makes DiTC look tame

__________________There’s trouble on every corner,
And you need a place to hide,
All the bad things follow us down,
I want you by my side.

I prefer Hybrid Theory, I liked Papercut & One Step Closer (note when the album was first out 4-5 years ago, I was like 12 or so :/) were decent, Meteora has been way too poppish for me, and Reanimation was just not the sort of genre I like. It's just too awkwardly mixed with different styles.

I prefer Hybrid Theory, I liked Papercut & One Step Closer (note when the album was first out 4-5 years ago, I was like 12 or so :/).

They were around like 5 - 6 years ago. I was one of the first 100 people who saw Linkin Park perform live in London. It was at Westminster Kingsway College. They mainly played their EP album and a couple of songs from Hybrid Theory (In the End (which was called The Untitled) and One Step Closer).

Yes, I had their underground ep too, they were then called Hybrid Theory(or just before it before they changed it due to copyright reasons orso) & their first release was Hybrid Theory EP, songs ie: My December etc, was first on it. But their first "real" release aka Hybrid Theory the full-album was their best release imo & have not really been that good since.

when i was 12, i thought hybrid theory was quite good. however, as with blink and limp bizkit, the main virtue of linkin park was that, like so many people, it got me listening to rather better, less mainstream music. With the virtue of hindsight it was a pretty terrible album (runaway being the only song that i would term 'mediocre or better') from a pretty terrible band but without it my listening to good music would have been delayed a while, so it wasn't all bad.

__________________Efficiency, efficiency they say
Get to know the date and tell the time of day
As the crowds begin complaining
How the Beaujolais is raining
Down on darkened meetings on the Champs Élysées

The Mad Capsule Markets -CiSTM K0nFLiqT - (The latest album from the brilliant and bizarre Japanese trio. Far heavier than their last album (010), they continue to play with genre boundaries, usually with drummer Motokasu's arms seemingly on the point of working themselves loose.)

For it's impressive cover, with an axe emblazoned with the words "GOSPEL AXE" that the one guy (Butch, I'm guessing) is holding. Also, the chick on the album cover suffers a clear case of a cameltoe.

John Wayne - AMERICA, Why I Love Her

Just listen as The Duke explains why we shouldn't pay attention to all the bad stuff going on in the world, and we should instead seek out little kids in candy stores, and give them a couple extra pennies for some soda-pop!

Also I advise the solid track features:

Impossible Underpants - A Man Called KlausImpossible Underpants is a concept band which works within these parameters: the song must be composed, lyrics written for, performed, and recorded, all within 20 minutes.

Buck Truck - Sleazy WeaselTry to imagine something weird, and then convince yourself it doesn't exist because it's just too bloody bizarre, and that if you would do it you would be the first and all that. Well that's not true. There's always some idiot that's done it already. Like this excellent example of... TRUCKER RAP!!!!1112223!!

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
Interpol - Antics
The Rapture- Echoes
PJ Harvey - Dry - Very different style to Stories...(see below), but excellent songs
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the sea
The Futureheads - The Futureheads - New band from Sunderland, short and sharp songs (album is only abour 35mins long), very energetic. And there's a Kate Bush cover. Ace.
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byjrun (maybe spelt wrong...) - chillout/relaxing/instrumental, good companion to...
Mogwai - Happy Songs for Happy People
Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible - If you think you don't like the manics based on anything since (and including, maybe) This Is My Truth... then please consider listening to THB, as it is probably the best album in the world ever, and quite different.

Think that's enough for now. And they're all Rock/Pop given your classifications...

Canibal Ox - The Cold VeinHip-hop
Dark, sinister and raw, but realistic and sensitive, great and original beats and usage of samples and very flowing lyrics without falling into the gangsterrap bullshit that so many of you guys loathe. To me, almost poetric lyrics spouted out in a coldish and raw way. Brilliant, should not be missed by any selfrespecting fan of the genre.

Wu Tang Clan - Desciples of the 36 ChambersHip-hop
A Live album (2 cd's) brought to you by the Wu. All members including ODB are participating in this great piece of hiphop history. All great songs are included and I was pretty surprised that most of 'm do actually sound good while rapping live. Especially, GZA, RZA, ODB, Ghostface and Method Man.

Yes, they do sound a bit like Joy Division. No, this probably isn't as good as Closer. But given that the album sounds this fantastic, does it really matter?

Track to sample - NYC.

Ace of Base - Happy Nation

The label 'pop music' is bordering on the meaningless - is anything interesting really being said when it is asserted that the Beatles, Steps, and Franz Ferdinand are all contributing to the same genre of music? If, however, we can agree to define pop music as cheerfully undemanding uplifting music, then this is still the best pop album of all time.

Tracks to sample -Don't Turn Around, Happy Nation.

The Arcade Fire - Funeral

This is my favourite album of 2004, if not the millenium. Incredibly emotional indie rock which always sounds a bit familiar, but seems to do everything just slightly better than what you're expecting. I thought it was a bit generic on the first listen, but after the third time through I was hooked.

Tracks to sample - The whole album, seriously. It's one of those rare ones where every single track is in the right place, and contributes to the sound as a whole - picking out individual songs would be akin to sacrilege. If I had to pick a favourite track it would be Crown of Love, but I doubt it would even sound that good isolated from the rest of the album.

This is my favourite album of 2004, if not the millenium. Incredibly emotional indie rock which always sounds a bit familiar, but seems to do everything just slightly better than what you're expecting. I thought it was a bit generic on the first listen, but after the third time through I was hooked.

Tracks to sample - The whole album, seriously. It's one of those rare ones where every single track is in the right place, and contributes to the sound as a whole - picking out individual songs would be akin to sacrilege. If I had to pick a favourite track it would be Crown of Love, but I doubt it would even sound that good isolated from the rest of the album.

I'd disagree about Crown of Love (i'd go with Laika myself), and I wouldn't say it's the best album of, well, any particular period of time, but otherwise Noddy here is bang on the money. Excellent, excellent album.

__________________Efficiency, efficiency they say
Get to know the date and tell the time of day
As the crowds begin complaining
How the Beaujolais is raining
Down on darkened meetings on the Champs Élysées

Dance/funk/Disco/put it where you want weeks Daft PunkDiscovery
This is pretty much the only vaguely dancy album i can listen to and enjoy again and again. Its just such an uplifting thing to listen to. Also, the way that things blend in, interlink and work together and against each other is fantastic. Some music snobs don't like this album, calling it regressive (well yes, its retro) and are dissapointed that it doesn't break the ground that homework did. I personally don't care, its a wonderful album that ive enjoyed regularly for almost 5 years now.
Tracks to sample: One more time, Aerodynamic, Something about us

agree 100% with this comment, would also recomend Harder, Faster, Stronger, Quicker for tracks to sample

__________________

They shall not grow old, as we who are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them.

I'd disagree about Crown of Love (i'd go with Laika myself), and I wouldn't say it's the best album of, well, any particular period of time, but otherwise Noddy here is bang on the money. Excellent, excellent album.

actually, i want to change this. it's certainly the second best album of the year after TESF, and i'm liking it exponentially more every time i listen to it. Everyone should acquire a copy posthaste.

__________________Efficiency, efficiency they say
Get to know the date and tell the time of day
As the crowds begin complaining
How the Beaujolais is raining
Down on darkened meetings on the Champs Élysées

Well according to HMV, self-titled New Found Glory is more recommended than Sticks and Stones (apparently, there wasn't enough good songs in their second album). Catalyst even pips Sticks and Stones.

I got scared when I heard Busted's second album and realised they sounded like a much less talented version of New Found Glory (with a different singer of course). As I can't stand Busted it tainted my view of New Found Glory

__________________

Wise men write because they have something to write about; fools write because they have to write something. - Plato

The first album from this fantastic threepiece. Subtle in places yet manic and heartfelt in others, the album swings from emotion to emotion. If you are familiar with their later work then this will feel a little rougher and far less polished. It's a snapshot of a band just starting out on a road of talented performances. Rawer than their later albums, there are some seriously impressive musical flurishes, showcasing the overall talent this band possess. A moody piece, its well worth a listen. Highlights include 'Sunburn' and 'Uno'

Soulwax - Much Against Everyones Advice

While being a nice blend of guitar music influenced by electronica, this band still retain the normal feel of a good band yet augment it with subtle twists of samples, drum loops and other embellishments.
The music is clearly Rock/Pop however and have some bittersweet songs mixed with agressive and quirky music. You get an overall sence of humour in their work which is a refreshing change from many bands who've dissapeared up their own arse.
If you're looking for something different within the Rock/Pop genre but something that doesn't stray too far from the safe cosyness of the scene then this is worth a look. Highlights include 'Too Many Djs'

__________________
I came, I saw, I shouldn't mix pleasure with carpentry.

Jeff Buckley - Grace - To this day I still am amazed at the lack of fame this man has; and deserves, could be due to the fact that he died at a tragically young age before he really hit the big time (drowned in the Mississippi while filming one of his videos I think ) The best I can probably describe it is soft rock although I've never really liked all these sub-categories. Took a while to grow on me but is now one of my all time favourites.

Jeff Buckley - Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk - This is the album he was making at the time of his death hence 'Sketches for...' All my doubts were dashed about the quality of a supposed unfinished album immediately after listening to this. Contains 2 CD's with the first to my ear sounding like a finished album, the second...I think thats where the 'sketches more applies. Takes on a slightly more harder sound in this compared to his debut Grace, Even though I find the second CD a bit lacking its still worth it for the 1st.

This album is truly a work of genius. From the harsh stretched vocals on tracks such as Bloodless and The Boy With The Bubble Gun to the uplifting mellow but still wide range of vocal tones on Draw Down The Stars, and 2nd Law to the rock/pop but ultimately depressing End Of The World (Dose Me Up). This album excels. There is not a bad song on the album in my opinion. If you like the style of Damien Rice with a rougher darker edge then this album is for you. Reminds me of Nick Drake. Some people may find that Tom McRae's voice grates on the 1st listen but as you listen to it more and more, you'll ultimately see how rewarding it is. Tom McRae's 2nd album "Just Like Blood" is also worth a mention, as it is just as good if not a bit more uplifting.

Damien Rice - O (Acoustic Folky Type Rock)

I know this has already been mentioned but to be honest it deserves a proper review. O is truly a fantastic album. From the 1st track Delicate with its sweeping vocals and intricate lyrics to the heartfelt The Blowers Daughter ( Which is the title song of the film "Closer") it draws the listener in. The simple instrumental use makes it sound like Damien Rice could have recorded it in your house. Standout tracks on the album for me are Cannonball a soft melodic trawl through the trials and tribulations of breaking up with a girl, to the oceanic harmonies of Cold Water theres a song for every mood in this album. The whole record I find can cheer me up and make me cry in equal measures. The whole tracks lead into each other sublimely so it sounds like your listening to an epic opera esque album. There's even 2 hidden tracks for you to fin incorporated in the last track Eskimo which features back-up singing from an Opera singer. This album is Essential in every way.

__________________
"I'll show you politics in America. Here it is, right here. 'I think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs.' 'I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking.' 'Hey, wait a minute, there's one guy holding out both puppets!'" - Bill Hicks

With some nice lyrics and not to much 'wanting to be down with the gangstahs' attitude this is a nicely composed album. Songs like cocktale and cocktail are good examples as well is crisis.
Best it is listened on shuffle without the interludes in it, althought those are pretty nice baselines.